Dolphins add rookie long snapper

The Miami Dolphis announced on Saturday the signing of undrafted free agent Rex Sunahara. The former West Virginia Mountaineers players gives the Dolphins a second rookie long snapper on the roster, joining Blake Ferguson. Miami selected Ferguson from LSU in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Ferguson was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 last week. The list is used for players who have either tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus or has a close contact with someone who has tested positive.

The Dolphins opened their training camp last week, with the first set of conditioning workouts beginning. Sunahara joins the team after paying in 25 games, including all 24 contests as a junior and senior, at West Virginia. He handled the long-snapping duties for all punts, field goals, and extra points and was a seminalist for the 2019 Patrick Mannelly Award, given annually to the nation’s top long snapper. He transferred to West Virginia from Rhode Island in 2016.

The addition of Sunahara is likely to be a short-term move for Miami, as they turn the long-snapping role back to Ferguson once he is cleared from the COVID-19 list. It will at least give the Dolphins someone who can snap during training camp if Ferguson has an extended stay on the list, while also giving Sunahara a chance to get some coaching at the NFL level, with the potential to catch on with another team down the road.